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Irma Hurricane

We were very lucky. “Harvey” missed us. It came in on shore a little over 200 miles north of us. It directly hit Rockport, Port Aransas, Victoria, Refugio, and Port Lavaca. Corpus Christi was just a little south of the eye.

One thing we realized down here in Texas living near the Gulf is, Hurricane season is taken very seriously. The weathermen are always reporting on storms coming off the coast of Africa. We knew this season started in August and ended the first of Nov. Here is Eastgate we knew that all annuals or anyone who left their camper here for storage, had to anchor their units to the concrete pads. Now after this past week, I understand why.

This storm started a week or two earlier as a depression #91. As they watched it cross the Atlantic it escalated as it reached the Yucatan Peninsula. It slowed down over land and then as it crossed into the Gulf of Mexico it started to escalate from a tropical storm to Hurricane. They initially knew it could come ashore as a Category 3, but the warm waters escaladed it to Category 4, which meant it contained winds of over 125 mph. It was predicted to land a little more south. The Rio Grande Valley started to prepare. Everyone was stocking up. South Padre Island closed all beaches and they started boarding up windows. If the winds reached over 45 mph, they would close the bridge to all traffic. They have an Emergency text system in place for their residents, that you can get this information as it develops. We took down our screen room, and put in all our awnings. When Rich put up the shed, one of the requirements was also to anchor it. So he constructed a wire anchor system that runs through both sides of the shed and is anchored to the concrete. The park went around putting all the pool chairs and anything loose away. They also inspected some of the homes of people who were not here and made sure everything was safe as possible. We were suppose to receive up to 70mph winds at one point. Also 4″ – 6” of rain. Well, not a whole lot happened. I woke up at midnight to hear the pitter patter of the rain. The wind wasn’t bad. It was suppose to escalate in the morning. Nope, we were very lucky. It came ashore around Port Lavaca, which is a little over 2 hours north on the coast.

We caught some of the outer wind bands but not fierce. Up around Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, Victoria and Port Lavaca, it destroyed the towns, hotels, homes, Rv Parks, and Boat Harbor’s. Some of the smaller towns evacuated. One of the Winter Texans from last year, said she had workamper friends in one of the parks. They could not leave until all the guest campers were gone. Then they could leave. I don’t know if I like that or not.

The towns were really tore up. The rain was horrible. They said that some areas around Houston could receive 50″ before it was over. Just imagine that much rain and it comes ashore at 125mph. “Harvey” came ashore and hovered for awhile. It actually moved like it was a drunken soldier on shore. It was downgraded finally to a tropical storm, but the tail end was still feeding the bands over the Gulf with water. It continued to rain. Houston started to flood. Houston is a very low city. It is only 50 feet above sea level. It was built on flat marshy ground. It is prone to flood but nobody expected it to flood this much. Reports started to come on tv of all the rescues.

The interstates started filling up. Some of the drivers just didn’t understand. They continue to think they are almighty and can drive right through, including semis. We seen reports of so many people just walking through the water to safety. Abandoning their vehicles or homes. The 911 calls were coming in. People were beginning to be trapped in their homes. The water kept rising. Some were in their attics with nowhere else to go. They were advised to bring an axe with them so they could chop a whole in the roof if needed. …….”Get out of your house”…..”Stand on your roof”…. “Bring a piece of material with you that you can wave to draw attention”. The calls kept coming in. The people were told they were on the list. But the Emergency people couldn’t help until daybreak, and even then, it was still impossible in many places. Finally you seen boats coming down the streets.

Individuals were going out with their own boats, canoes, airboats, even jet skis. They were going out into the neighborhoods and picking up people and bringing them to high ground. The local Convention Center opened up for the victims. They kept running short of cots for them to sleep on. Some people slept the night on the floor. But at least they were safe and dry. This flood had overwhelmed everyone.

The news showed so many people being rescued with dump trucks. Many times they used ladders to help the people get in and out. So many people, young and old were carried through the water. In one case, Nursing home residents were trapped and needed someone to come get them. No one came. Finally the nursing home owners were so devastated and helpless, they took a picture of all these poor people sitting in chairs and the couches waist deep in water looking so forlorn.

I can’t even imagine their thoughts. I’m sure they thought they were at deaths door. She sent the picture to her daughter for help. Her daughter put it out on Social Media and the news. In less than 2 hours, Help Arrived. Here’s all those people today smiling, happy, warm and dry. So Happy to be Alive. How awful for them.

The National Guard was called out. National Guard brought in around 30 helicopters for air rescue. The US Coast Guard also brought in their helicopters Every available resource, was called in. Fema, Red Cross, so many agency’s arrived, their was help arriving from all over the US. Even the Border Patrol from the Rio Grande Valley came with over 30 different types of boats. Of course all the news people arrived. The reports and pictures on tv were constant the first 2 days. It was ongoing for so long. The storm stagnated in the Houston area, then went back out over the Gulf. It reentered east of Houston around the Beaumont area and headed north west, slowly dissipating, but did much more damage and dropped a lot of rain in the Beaumont area. They faced so many dangerous issues.

Now they also had floating islands of Red Fire Ants. They had come out of the ground and attach themselves to each other and become a floating colony. You certainly don’t want to get into a nest of them. Also, now the bayous had filled up and the city had to release some of the water in the reservoirs so they wouldn’t break. Now Alligators were also swimming in the water along with Snakes. Sewage and Chemicals had been leaked into the waters by now. It was so dangerous to be in the water, but many had no choice. Now here it is a week after “Harvey” landed, and the city still has water. They said it may take weeks in some areas to totally empty. Another occurrence they may find is floating caskets.

With the ground being so saturated, some caskets may just surface and float. How awful it would be to come across a casket. The latest count of deaths was 39, which I thought was pretty good.

Through all of this their is always “HERO’S” that give selflessly of themselves and their money. In Houston Jim “Mattress Mack” Mcingvale has 2 very large furniture stores called “Gallery Furniture”.

He opened his doors to anyone who needed shelter. They made his new furniture their home. A place to rest and sleep. He fed them, and donations of all sort came in. He even gave out his cell number for anyone who needed help and couldn’t get it.

He not only let the flood victims sleep in his beds, he also let the National Guard rest. “What a hero”. He also did this for Hurricane Katrina.He wants to help and share all he has to the people who need his help. It was said he was losing $30,000 a day.

Hotels and Motels all over are filled. Some people left before the storm and some left after and found a place to go. I believe Fema or the Red Cross is paying for the rooms for most of this month to give the families time and everyone to make plans for the future. They are located all over Texas and probably Louisiana. I do know that here in the Rio Grande Valley, we have many families that are in our motels. All across the valley, the school systems are going motel to motel, enrolling the children in school. All they want is the child’s name and info. Their not requiring Birth Cert. or papers. They just want them in school so their life can continue as normal. Country Suites here in Harlingen posted on FB the other day, the items they needed. It contained from a Wheelchair and cane, on to clothes and personal care items and food. They alone have 22 families. We have at least 6 motels full. Before you knew it, the word got out. They have so many contributions that they are sharing across the Valley. One person thought it was important to give the families a Cook out on Monday for Labor Day. So many people have volunteered to help to put on a Celebration. H-E-B is a huge chain grocery store in Texas. In fact in the valley, their is no other. …..No Krogers, Hyvee, Albertsons, just H-E-B….. They deployed a convoy of 15 vehicles including 2 Mobile Kitchens, water and fuel tankers and H‑E‑B trailers, that will deliver much‑needed relief supplies and services to the communities in the affected hurricane area

The H‑E‑B Mobile Kitchens, are two 45‑foot‑long food preparation facilities that are each designed to serve up to 2,500 meals per hour, will set up and serve hot meals to first responders and storm victims. Also H‑E‑B’s DRUs that are fully equipped with an H‑E‑B Pharmacy and Mobile Business Services unit, which allows displaced residents to fill prescriptions, cash checks and pay bills, as well as provide access to an ATM. One of the kitchens stopped in the Victoria area. The other went on north to Houston. Another fact to mention is the pets. Anyone who had a pet, it was rescued with them.

Pets have become a family member and they were treated as so. The shelters have included them. Their were pictures and stories of all the pet rescues. So many people came out of their homes with their cats and dogs in carriers. The ones that are found without owners have been taken to shelters. Some are being shipped out of state to no kill shelters to find new homes. Our shelter in Harlingen has made several trips up to take homeless animals. They are all asking for donations of food, blankets and money. The animals are being taken care of which is wonderful. They all need a home.

A week later, everything is still in turmoil but they are getting a handle on it. Their were 3 large shelters open in Houston, but they are back down to one. Their were actually around 142 shelters open around the area. Over 100,000 homes are affected with flooding in Texas alone. Over 300,000 homes were without power. A state of disaster was declared in 50 county’s. The discussion has been ongoing…..Should the mayor have evacuated Houston???. It had happened in the past for another Hurricane that never happened after all. Their was traffic jams and people died in the heat. The mayor didn’t evacuate do to that reason. I do agree with him. Houston is the 4th largest city in the US. How do you evacuate a whole city. Where do they go. If you’ve ever been through Houston in rush hour, you would know how bad it is. That is only a small portion of the people. To my understanding he made the right decision. When you realize only 39 lives were lost, that is a small percent considering the population. Some of those lives were lost in vehicles trying to escape the flood. Some of those did not use common sense when traveling in flooded waters. So many near fatal accidents happened that we seen on video. It is sad that anyone died but you have to pick the best scenario for all. I believe they were so fortunate that only 39 lives were lost so far. It could have been much worse. But I’m sure it may go up as they continue the search.

White Caps on the Houston Interstates

Now we start watching the weather forecast…..Another storm coming off the coast of Africa. Already a massive Hurricane.……IRMA…..Of course their are many storm tracks. This one they think, will follow up the East Coast of the US…..So we Wait and Watch